The Perfect First Date
by Kallanit
Summary: Severus Snape wonders what could be the perfect first date for a woman who is as much of a bibliophile as he is himself. AU in that Severus Snape and Remus Lupin survive the war, and Hermione Granger doesn't marry Ron Weasley. Drabble, one-shot, complete.


**Disclaimer:** Not mine, don't own it—I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

.o.O.o.

This takes place after the war. Severus and Remus survive. Tonks and the Weasleys don't appear in this story, so you can decide for yourself if she or Fred survives. No Epilogue, Cursed Child or Fantastic Beasts. Complete.

.o.O.o.

 _What was the ideal first date?_ Severus mused to himself. He knew, of course, that there were those who thought an elegant meal out compromised the perfect first date. Others—and here he fought not to sneer in derision, thinking of the male members of the Golden Trio—considered a Quidditch match to be the height of pleasure. Neville Longbottom, who Severus had come to respect now that he no longer had to teach the young man, had once taken Luna Lovegood on a date which comprised hiking and a picnic in the countryside while he searched for plants and she searched for her obscure creatures. _This had merit_ , he considered, but it still was not quite right.

 _Where to take a know-it-all bookworm?_ he wondered. It had to be somewhere different. Her last several dates—and this time he did sneer—had all taken her to museums.

 _It's not that I don't like museums,_ she had commented to Severus in exasperation, _but there's little appeal to going to the same museum time and time again in the company of wizards who have no actual interest in them and are desperate to leave because they're bored senseless._

 _If they even had sense to begin with_ , Severus had scoffed.

 _True,_ she had laughed, _but they get points for being willing to do something they think will appeal to me, even if they know they won't enjoy themselves. Except it's no fun for me either when I know my companion hates what we're doing. I'd rather do something we can_ both _enjoy._

Severus had taken note. Although he himself would enjoy such an activity, he did not want to remind her of her previous, unsuccessful, dates. So what else would they both enjoy?

Then he had an idea.

After the war, once he had recovered from his wounds and had been exonerated for his actions during the war, Severus Snape had, with great relief, handed in his notice as a member of staff of Hogwarts and had gratefully left behind the place that had been both his home and a source of misery and torment to him for so long, and had promptly disappeared into the depths of the Department of Mysteries. Not only was he the pre-eminent Potions Master in Europe, but he also had a knowledge of the Dark Arts that few others had—and no other in Britain. Certainly, there were many of his Death Eater colleagues who knew Dark spells and curses, but they did not have true understanding of the Dark Arts, their appeal and seduction, and their ever-changing nature, and so the Department of Mysteries had welcomed Severus with open arms.

Likewise, Hermione Granger had followed him into the Department of Mysteries after finishing her NEWTs, where she was now taking a series of successive Masteries. She had first apprenticed herself to Severus and upon completion of her Potions Mastery had begun another in Arithmancy, with the intention of following that up with Masteries in Charms and Transfiguration. For Hermione Granger, it was knowledge that was both seductive and addictive.

Severus had watched while she dated one imbecile after another, unable to approach her himself while she was still his apprentice. Therefore, as soon as she had gained her Potions Mastery, he had immediately invited her on a date. Hermione had blushed prettily and had promptly agreed, and now he was left trying to decide what would be the perfect first date.

As part of her recompense to Gringotts for stealing a Horcrux from Bellatrix Lestrange's vault and smashing through the roof of the bank on a purloined dragon during the war, Hermione had helped negotiate better rights for the goblins. The house elves had not wanted the freedom she wanted for them, and so she had instead introduced a law to mandate their fair treatment, all while sitting her NEWTs at Hogwarts. The goblins had received her attention after her NEWTs were complete and one of the rights she had obtained for them was that the Ministry had no control over who Gringotts chose to employ. Hermione had mentioned a number of things in passing to the goblins and they had listened.

One of those things was Remus Lupin. He would have received a Mastery in Defence Against the Dark Arts long ago if it had not been forbidden due to his status as a werewolf. Of course, Remus did not have knowledge of the Dark Arts themselves, only of Defence against them, but this was more than many curse breakers had. Remus also, due to being unable to secure long-term, respectable employment prior to the second Voldemort War, had worked in many unsavoury places and jobs, in both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds. He had a familiarity with the Muggle world that not many other magicals had, save the Muggleborns, and more, a familiarity with the shady side of life that could be of use to a Gringotts employee.

For Gringotts employee Remus now was, since Hermione had mentioned him and his backgound to the goblins. His job was to seek out magical tomes and artifacts that had made their way into the Muggle world. Remus would buy them on behalf of Gringotts and then Gringotts, after removing any dark curses, would either keep them if they were valuable or else sell them onwards, with a nice commission for Remus thrown in. Many of the items he obtained for Gringotts had been found in less than salubrious places, but Remus also regularly visited respectable antique stores and rare and second-hand bookshops throughout Britain and Europe.

Remus' favourite two places were Hay-on-Wye and Wigtown, which he visited more frequently than any other place. Hay-on-Wye, a small market town on the Welsh border, had long been known as a book town, with over two dozen bookshops, many selling specialist and second-hand books, although the number of bookshops was declining, with many of them becoming general antique shops. In contrast to Hay-on-Wye, the status of Wigtown as a book town was planned, in order to regenerate a depressed town and the town was officially designated as Scotland's National Book Town in 1998. Severus had a feeling Hermione would know of Hay-on-Wye, but as she had been buried in her Mastery studies and fighting for better rights for the goblins for the last few years, he was not certain if she was aware of Wigtown's fairly recent designation as a book town.

So, what was the perfect date for a woman who was as much of a bibliophile as Remus or Severus himself? Severus grinned as he began to make plans to visit a book town or two.

.o.O.o.

 **A/N:** A number of reviewers have said they hope I'll continue this story. I'm sorry, but it was just a one-shot, and it's complete as far as I'm concerned, however, if anyone else wants to continue the story, they're welcome to do so. Please just reference this story or link back to it, thanks.


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